Rabbis Report on Meeting with German Chancellor on Jewish Issues

The World Center of European Rabbis reported today that a delegation of its members met in West Germany with Chancellor Ludwig Erhard and other West German officials on a number of Jewish issues.

The organization said that Dr. M. Hirsch, chairman of the reparations committee of the Bundestag, told the delegation that his committee approved in principle claims proposed by the rabbis for funds to restore cemeteries in Europe destroyed by the Nazis. The rabbis added that they had been informed that this claim would be presented to the Bundestag for action.

The rabbis said that they had informed the West German officials that they were concerned about the refusal of West Germany to extend the deadline for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals and its inaction on the recall of West German scientists working in Egypt on advanced weapons systems. They added that they estimated the number of Jewish cemeteries destroyed by the Nazis as about 2,000.